Gun.



Patented May 29, I900. H. G. JOHNSON.

G U N (Application filed Sept. 30, 1899.|

2 She etsSheei I.

(No Model.)

Patented May 29, I900. H. G. JUHNSGN.

GUN.

(Application filed Sept. 30, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

/N VENTOR.

ATENT @rsrcs.

HANs G. JOHNSON, or wAUKoN, IOWA.

GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,396, dated may 29, 1900. Application filed September 30, 1899- Serisl No. 732,183. (No'modelb To all whom it mag/ concern:

Be it known that l, HANS G. JoHNsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waukon,

in the county of Allamakee and State of Iowa,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guns; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and use ful improvements involved in the construction of firearms, and more particularly to that variety of firearms comprising a plurality of barrels and means to fire either barrel at will.

The object of my invention is to provide a gun which will be found especially adapted to and desirable for the purpose of enabling the hunter to be prepared for bagging a mixed variety of game-that is to say, a gun by means of which the hunter may fire a ball or i a load of shot, thereby enabling him to be rieties of game.

prepared forboth the larger and smaller va- With this end in view my invention consists of certain novel features of combination and construction of parts, as will be hereinafterspecifically pointed out both in the specification and in the drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation showing the central portion of the gun or that part thereof comprising the trigger and firing mechanism and contiguous parts. Fig. 2 is a top view of Fig. 1, showing the breech-block in an open position, Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal vertical section ofa portion of the barrels and the firing mechanism; Fig. 4 is a transverse section of Fig. 3, on a reduced scale, taken on line a: m. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view showing the preferred construction of one of the firing-pins.- Fig. 6 is a perspective detail view of the manually-controlled sliding block by means of which the position of the firingpins is controlled. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail view of the preferred form of spring designed to frictionally grasp the block controlling the firing-pins. Fig.8 is a side view showin g the outer end ofthe barrels and the means I employed tcrsecnre the same in operative relationship, though permitting the'barrels to independently expand or contract. Fig. 9 is a detail showing a sectional view of the lock:

ing-latch or keeper and also showing a pe'r spective view of the inner side of said keeper and the hammer-checking device attached thereto. Fig. 10 shows one side of the breech block as it appears when removed from its frame.

It will 'be found that several purposes are subserved and many desirable results are pro' duced by means of the peculiar combination and construction of the several parts of my improved gun,- the advantages arising from the use thereof being that compensation will be provided for the independent contraction and'expansion of the barrels, thereby prevent ing the expansion of one barrel from aifecting the true alinement of the other barrel. It will be further observed that simple devices are provided by means of which a single ham- 70 mer and trigger mechanism is all that is required to cooperate with the firing-pins of both the rifle and shot barrels and that both of said barrels are held in position in their sockets by a single screw. It will befurther apparent that the hammer and trigger mech anisms are so constructed that the hammer will move laterally out of cooperation with the trigger when the breech-block is moved to one side, as for the purpose of reloading,

thereby insuring safety, inasmuch as a' casual movement of the trigger will not aifect the hammer or the firing-pins. It will furthermore be observed that the hammer cannot be casually or otherwise brought 'into contact with the firing-pins excepting when the peculiar form of locking device provided for the breech-block is properly secured.

Other advantages will appear from the fol' lowing specification, fully setting forth the 0 details of my invention and their cooperating accessories, each part for convenience being designated by numerals, of which 1 indicates the stock of my gun, which may be of the usual or any preferred construction, to which 5 I secure, as by the side-clamps 2, the framesection 3, provided upon the under side in the usual manner with the trigger-guard 4,

properly held in position in any preferred way, as by the threaded anchoring-stem 5 and zoo locking-screw 6.

The forward end of the frame 3 is provided with two vertically-alined conical recesses 7 the one above being preferably designed to receive the conical or tapered end 8 of the rifle-barrel 9, while the lower recess receives the tapered end 10 of the shot-barrel 11, said barrels both being locked in position by a single retaining-screw 12, which passes through the frame 3 between said barrels, it being understood that said locking-screw is preferably slightly tapered and of sufficient diameter to engage recesses or grooves formed in the contiguous side'of the rifle and shot barrels, it beingclear, by reference to Fig. 3, that the withdrawal of the pin 12 will simultaneously release both barrels, thus rendering it possible to easily detach the barrels from the frame 3 to enable the gun'tobe more compactly stored. The breeeh block 13 being preferably arranged to swing outwardly to the left, as by reference to'Fig. 2, it will be seen that the forward end thereof is hinged to the bracket 14, integrally formed upon or otherwise secured to the frame 3 at a contiguous point, the breech-block being held in its operative relation with said bracket by thesecuring-bolt 15.

In order to insure absolute safety against the casual cooperation of the trigger with the hammer mechanism, I secure the trigger 16 to the frame 3 by means of the pin 17, thereby,holding said trigger in position upon said frame and wholly independent of the movement of the breech-block, inasmuch as said trigger is provided with an extension 18,which is so formed that the hammer 19, having the usual primary and secondarynotches or recesses 20 and 21, respectively, may be moved laterally with the breech-block without disturbing said trigger.

It will be understood that since the end of the extension 18 liesabovefthe plane of the lower edge of the breech-block said block must be properly provided with a guidinggroove which will enable said block to ride over said extension, since said extension is held normally upward in the usual manner by the spring 22. The breech-block consists of a rectangular casing having the removable side plate 23, which may be received by projecting flanges 24 of said casing, the forward end of the plate being designed to project into engagement w'th the hinge end, while the rear end of said plate is held, as by-the set-screw 25. vThe block is preferably inclined or beveled, as indicated by the numeral 26, and is designed to fit a correspondingly-inclined wall provided in the casing 3, and in order to secure the breech-block in its operative position within the frame I provide the locking-latch or keeper 27, which is provided with a suitable aperture 28, designed to receive the threaded end of the set-screw 30, carried bythe safety-pawl 29;, aite'rsitid screw is extendthrough asui able aperture provided in the contiguouslvall of the breechblock, said parts being thus held in operative relationship by said set-screw and designed to be received by a corresponding aperture rear end of the breech-' forward and therefore away from their outer or free extends loosely through the slotted aperture 33, formed in the casing.

The obje'ct'of the curved extension 31is to prevent the hammer from being raised when the keeper 27 has not'been ,thrown in the locked position, as indicated in Fig. 1. If the rear edge 34 of the keeper 27 has not passed over a contiguous part of the frame, it will insure that the curved terminal 31 will still lie in the path of the hammerand will therefore prevent the hammer being raised sufliciently to bring the primary catch 20 into engagement with the extension 18, thus holding the hammer at safety-point and calling the at tention of the operator to the fact that the breech-block'has not been properly adjusted. In Fig.' 6 I have illustrated the preferred means upon which I rely to so control ,the firing-pins with respect to the single hammer that either one of said pins may be brought into the position for firing its respective charge as may be desired by the operator.

The switch-block by means of which I am enabled to instantly change from rifle to shot, as desired, consists of the body portion 35, which, as will be observed, is substantially T-shaped and is provided upon its outer face with the safety-recesses 36 and 37 and with the extensions 38, which are so formed that they will extend parallel with the body portion 35, thereby providing recesses between said parts designed for the purpose of loosely receiving the rear ends of the firing-pins 39, which are provided, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 5, with the recess 40, the object of said recess being toenable said firing-pins to be so received between the body portion 35 and the parallel sections 38 that said pins will 'have'a free longitudinal movement. The recesses 40 are also of proper extent to enable the position of the rear ends of said pins-to be changed, as willbe hereinafter pointed out. The body portion 35 is further provided with the stem 4],adapted to fit the aperture 42, formed, preferably, in the central part of the thumb-piece 43, said stem being secured in said thumb-piece in any preferred way, as by a pin passing through the aperture 44, or, if preferred, said stem may be made round, when screw-threads may be employed to hold said parts together.

In order to normally hold the firingpins contac with the gammer, I secure, preferably, to th forwar edge of the body 35, as by a setcrew 45, extending in the aperture 46, a-spring 47, the free ends of which are designed to engage the forward edge of the recess 40, as will be" readily understood by reference to Fig. 3.

In order to insure that there will be a clearance between the hammer and the pins, I provide the spring 48, designed to insure a rebound of the hammer or a sulficient reverse movement thereof to hold said hammer out of contact with the said pins notwithstanding the force brought to bear upon the hammer by the mainspringAQ-x In order that the keeper 27 may be properly guided into its operative position when the breech-block is closed, I provide the guiding post or lug 50, which may be an integral part of the frame 3, and in order to normally hold the said keeper rearwardly extended, so that it will readily snap past and move over the edge of the frame, as indicated by the division-line 51, I secure in any preferred way to the safety-pawl 29 the controllingspring 52,it being understood that said safetypawl and keeper 27 are secured so that they will move in sympathy with each other by the construction heretofore described.

The object in providing the notches or recesses 36 and 37 is to enable the switch-block to reliably cooperate with the spring-pawl 53, which is secured, as bya set-screw 54, to the removable part or lid 23. By this construction it will be seen that the free end of the spring 53 will engage one or the other of said notches, and thus hold the switch-block by frictional grasp into an adjusted position, though permitting the said block to be freely raised or lowered, as may be desired, by the operator. The thumb-piece 43 may be provided with a roughened, though ornamental, surface in order to insure a more reliable grasp thereon, and it is clear, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, that when said thumb-piece is moved upward the lower firing-pin will be so disposed that its rear end will be in position for receiving the blow of the hammer, but that when said thumb-piece is moved downward the upper firing-pin will be brought into cooperation with the hammer, and thereby insure the discharge of the rifled barrel. By reference to Figs. 2 and 3 it will be observed that I have provided in the frame 3 a bore 56, which is so disposed in said frame that it will be truly alined with the bore of the rifled barrel, and it is obvious that when the breech-block has been swung outward in an open position the breech end of said barrel may be readily cleansed, as 'by inserting the cleaning-rod through the bore 56, and thereby obviating the necessity of cleaning said barrel from the muzzle end, which is well known to be detrimental to the rifles.

Suitable shell-extracting devices are provided, as indicated by the numeral 57, which are properly constructed and so disposed that a terminal or lever section 58 will extend through the hinge formed by the bracket 14 and the breech block, and thereby insure that when said brccclrblock has been opened said lever-sections will be acted upon and the shell-extractors moved backward and bring with them the exploded shell, as is usual.

I desire to call especial attention to the means I have provided for operatively securing the barrels in cooperation with each other, which, as will be seen by reference to Figs. 1 and 8, consists in rigidly securing to the under side of the rifle-barrel any-preferred number of depending collars 59, it being understood that said collar is so constructed that it will snugly receive the shot-barrel and reliably hold it in its operative position, though permitting a slight movement between said collar and shot-barrel sufficient to compensate for the longitudinal extension of either barrel incident to the use of the same,

it being well understood that, in case the barrels are brazed or otherwise rigidly secured together, as is usual, when the shot-barrel, for instance, becomes heated from use it will expand longitudinally sufiicient-ly to impair an accurate shooting capacity of the rifled barrel.

A desirable finish may be imparted to the gun by filling in the space betweenthe barrels near the point usually grasped by the hand of the operator, as with suitably-finished sections 60, of wood or the like, the said parts being held together by set-screws 61 or otherwise.

, It will be observed that I have provided a reliable mechanism of very simple construction by means of which the pleasure of a sportsman may be very greatly augmented and that all the parts thereof may be very cheaply and readily constructed, and, furthermore, that said parts may be manufactured in large quantities, so as to be readily interchangeable, thus making it possible for one part of the gun to be instantly replaced at a minimum cost.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In acombineil rifle and shotgun, the combination of the barrels thereof and suitable means to hold the same in union with each other,of a frame having sockets to receive said barrels; means to detachably secure said barrels to said frame; a breech-block pivotally secured to said frame and provided with a firing-pin for each barrel; a hammer 006perating with said pins and carried by said block and means to change the position of the pins whereby either barrel may be discharged in the .manner specified and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a combined rifle and shotgun, the combination with the barrels and a suitable stock and frame adapted to hold said barrels in their operative positions; a breech-block pivoted in said frame and adapted to be moved laterally; a hammer and a pair of firing-pins; means to change the position of said pins, whereby but one of them will be struck by said hammer and a keeper and locking-pawl adapted to coiiperate with each other to the end that said pawl will prevent the hammer from being raised until said keeper has moved to the position necessary to secure the breech-block in a. locked position, as specifiedand for the purpose set forth.

3. In guns, a breech-block and a suitable frame therefor; a pair of firing-pins mounted in said block; means to change the position of said pins; a ham mer adapted to cooperate with said pins and having a driving-spring, and a trigger mounted in the frame and adapted to permit the hammer to be moved laterally when the breech-block is opened, as specified and for the purpose set forth.

. 4. In a combined rifle and shotgun, a pair of firing-pins; a hammer cooperating with said pins; means to change'the position of said pins so that one of them will be struck by said hammer and a locking-pawl disposed in the path of said hammer and adapted to prevent said hammer from being moved into a set position until the breech-block is locked within its frame, as specified and for the purpose set forth.

5. As an improvement in guns having a rifle and shot barrel, a breech-block and a suitable frame therefor; a firing-pin for each of said barrels; a sliding block adapted to hold said pins in position whereby but one of them will be struck by the hammer and a spring mounted in the path of said block and adapted to hold the same by frictional contact in an adjusted position, as specified and for the purpose set forth.

6. As an improvement in guns havinga rifle and shot barrel, a breech-block and a snitable frame therefor; a hammer anddrivingspring; a firing-pin for each of said barrels and suitable devices for adjusting said pins whereby but one of them will be in the path of the falling hammer and suitable means to prevent the raising of said hammer until said breechblock is locked in its operative position wi thin its frame, as specified and for the purpose set forth.

7. In guns, a pair of barrels, a breech-block and suitable frame therefor; a pair of firingpins; means to change the position of said pins; ahammer adapted to coiiperate with said pins, and a trigger mounted in the frame and adaptedto permit the hammer to be moved out of cooperation with it, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afilx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HANS G. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

H. J. MELLIcK, CHAS. E. STILWELL. 

